The Joy of Obedience
God’s Word had a profound effect on the people who heard Paul’s preaching in Thessalonica (1 Thessalonians 1). They welcomed the message, became a model congregation, and shared the gospel with others.
Robert M. Solomon served as Bishop of The Methodist Church in Singapore from 2000-2012. He now has an active itinerant ministry of preaching and teaching in Singapore and abroad. He is the author of 19 books, including The Race, The Conscience, The Sermon of Jesus and Faithful to the End.
God’s Word had a profound effect on the people who heard Paul’s preaching in Thessalonica (1 Thessalonians 1). They welcomed the message, became a model congregation, and shared the gospel with others.
Nehemiah 8 records a high point in the book, when the people gather with tangible unity to worship the Lord (Nehemiah 8:1). They ask Ezra to bring out the Law, which he does before the assembly (v. 2).
It is a common mistake to think that great ministry has only to do with such activities as preaching, singing, and putting up a great show on stage.
The enemies try every trick in their book to bring Nehemiah down, but the man remains resolute and close to God. He quietly and urgently takes appropriate action to secure the city, appointing gatekeepers and other residents (Nehemiah 7:1, 3) to stand guard.
One of the times when we have to be most vigilant against the tricks of the devil is immediately after a great victory. The prophet Elijah had a tremendous victory over the false prophets of Baal when God displayed His awesome power on Mount Carmel.
Dealing with Satanic opposition from outside the church is difficult, but dealing with subtle opposition arising from within the church is worse. Shemaiah (probably a priest) invites Nehemiah to meet him at the temple, claiming that assassins are coming to kill Nehemiah at night.
A good American football player needs determination to overcome opposition that will come from all sides. He has to deftly avoid opponent team players or skilfully push them away, and fight his way forward to score a touchdown.
The congregation is like a body. Any deformity or malfunction must be set right and not left to grow more serious. Nehemiah is keen to restore the spiritual health of the community.
One of the managers in a Dilbert comic strip asks: ″Who’s up for some leadership?″ He then continues, ″Watch me define behaviour, align your goals with company objectives, prioritize respect, deal directly with conflict, maintain a positive attitude, and pretend to care.″
YMI (which stands for Why Am I?), is a platform for Christian young people all over the world to ask questions about life and discover their true purpose. We are a community with different talents but the same desire to make sense of God’s life-changing word in our everyday lives.
YMI is a part of Our Daily Bread Ministries.
Scripture quotations taken from The Holy Bible,
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